Category: finance

Christmas, dreams, finance, holiday, wealth, writing

My Year of Hopefulness – I’m Rich

Christa Avampato

“Wealth consists not in having great possessions but in having few wants.” ~ Esther de Waal, author of Seeking God: The Way of St. Benedict

Trish Scott, one of the readers of this blog (and a wonderful blogger herself), recently left a comment that got me thinking and connecting some disparate dots that have been showing up in my life. She asked me to consider how I might feel about leaving empty moments empty for a little while. Especially during this time of year, there is an urge and a propensity to fill up everything to the brim: stockings, large holiday dinner plates, space under the tree, our schedules, and the list goes on. Hurry hurry hurry – Christmas is only x number of days away and you’re in your house missing out on all the cheer outside of your door. No wonder we all settle down for a long winter’s nap on December 26th. We’re exhausted! So what if we could just sit, for a moment, and be glad to feel a little empty? What would that do for us?

This Christmas I didn’t make a wish list. For the first time ever I realized I am rich because there isn’t anything I need that I don’t already have. I’m now exactly where I always wanted to be in my financial life. I don’t want for anything; I feel steady and secure financially, despite that the economy is in constant turmoil. With this thought, I felt a tidal wave of gratitude. By Esther de Waal’s beautiful definition of wealth, I am rich. I sat for a moment today and took that feeling in. After so many years of working so hard, wanting so much to not worry about money, I realized I had arrived at my destination. Today, I got there. My heart started humming.

And then I took a look at my busy December. I didn’t get to see everyone I wanted to see. I didn’t get to every outing I was invited to, nor every holiday gathering. I had to take some time for myself, and to do some selfless volunteer work which is so needed at this time of year. So I missed out on some experiences. And yet, I feel so extraordinarily lucky that I have so many incredible people in my life to spend my time with, that I have so many projects that I am happy to spend my time on, that I have places to be where I am needed and wanted. I sat for a moment today and took that feeling in. About this time 7 years ago, I decided to leave my job to settle in one place and start to build a life, a community where I felt like I belonged. Today, I realized I had gotten exactly that after so many years of building. What an amazing feat! My heart began to sing.

So now we wait indoors for the Blizzard of 2009 to arrive any minute. We’re supposed to be snowed in with 12 inches of gorgeous, puffy, white snowflakes. Let it be. Snow me in, world. Make me sit down and reflect on the many, many blessings I have in my life. Some of them were hard won, and others showed up like little miracles from thin air. For all of them I am thankful. So here I’ll sit for a bit today, sip some tea, listen to Christmas carols, light a candle that smells like cinnamon, and be glad to just be right here, right now, pinching myself to make sure that this rich and magical life I lead is real.

business, Examiner, finance, women

Examiner.com: An Update with Amanda Steinberg of DailyWorth

Christa Avampato

Since I first featured Amanda Steinberg, Founder of DailyWorth, the site has grown considerably. DailyWorth is a website that helps women manage their finances, though the information is incredibly valuable for men as well. I recently caught up with her to ask about the site, her business, and how she’s managing change.

finance, New York City, personal finance

DailyWorth.com: Lack of Renter’s Insurance Could Burn You

Christa Avampato

I was recently published for the second time on DailyWorth, a financial advice website. I wrote about financial lessons I learned as a result of my apartment building fire. Laura and I will run a link to the article on The Journal of Cultural Conversation as well to get the word out. This information is critical to protecting your financial well-being, particularly if you live in New York City. To read the article, click here.

The photo to the left was taken by me and is an actual picture from my building after the fire.

economy, finance, home, housing, New York City, real estate

My Year of Hopefulness – A Room (or Two) of My Own, Eventually

Christa Avampato

Tonight I went to a session offered by Mindy Diane Feldman, a Penn alum and SVP at Halstead Realty, on the ins and outs of buying an apartment in Manhattan. It is a complicated, cumbersome process and the current economic downtown has heightened the complexity considerably. The session lasted almost 3 hours and we just barely scratched the surface. It is not an undertaking for the faint of heart! While many of the other alums left feeling a little dejected and depressed how complicated the process is, I felt lifted up. I felt like I was armed with a little information that would help me to move in the right direction of finding a room (or two, or three) of my own on this tiny little island that I love so much.

Some of my friends are surprised by my desire to stay in New York after this September. I can understand the confusion. I had the opportunity to just pick up and go somewhere new after losing my last apartment and most of my belongings. Realizing how much I don’t need in the way of material belongings, why would I ever want to be tied down and own my own tiny place?

I don’t have a clean answer. All I can say is that the thought of leaving New York never crossed my mind. In fact, I feel it’s even more important now for me to know my neighbors and my building and my neighborhood by owning an apartment. I am so tired of starting over. I’ve done it every year since I was 18 years old. I’ve had enough moving and transience in my life. A temporary dwelling is no longer appealing to me. And while I’d love to work abroad on an assignment and travel extensively, I finally found the city where I feel most at home. After so much looking and so much loss, the comfort of calling someplace a real home brings me a tremendous sense of peace.

I won’t even attempt to cover the 3 hour session in this blog post. I can’t even list all of the highlights in a reasonable amount of space. Here are the top 5 pieces I found most useful in my decision to begin working toward buying my own place:

1.) There are huge differences between co-ops, condos, and “condops”. Each has its positives and negatives and determining which one is the right one for us takes extensive research and soul-searching.

2.) Unlike with rentals where I find most brokers to be a little tough to handle, when we buy a place, particularly in New York City, our real estate broker is our very best ally, resource, and champion. Interview them. Ask A LOT of questions, and go exclusively with 1 broker (and tell them that you’re doing so.) If they know that you’ve committed to them, they will be committed to you. They are the lynch pin to helping you go from being a renter to an owner.

3.) There is actually a triumvirate of allies that are critical to buying an apartment in Manhattan: the real estate broker, an established, private residence real estate attorney, and a financial broker. The real estate broker is the pilot of the entire transaction and the other two are the co-pilots.

4.) The savings process and the purchase process are long affairs. Mindy opened the session by asking who was interested in buying an apartment in the next 3 years. That was the shortest time horizon she asked about. With today’s climate and for the foreseeable future it takes much more money than it ever has before to buy an apartment. It is a serious investment of time and money. At first I thought it was foolish for me to go to this session because I am several years away from being able to purchase an apartment. Mindy helped me realize that planning now, years out, is the best thing I could possibly do!

5.) I’m one of those people who is always out in the world looking for opportunity. With the economic downturn and the real estate crash, I’ve been wondering if I should buy now, even if I’m not really ready. Deals abound so shouldn’t I take advantage of them? Mindy’s answer was an emphatic “no”. A home is not our retirement or our 401K. It is an investment on a very different level. There is a psychological, emotional, and financial investment wrapped up in one and it needs to be treated with greater care than any other investment we make. To buy when we aren’t ready, financially or emotionally, is a huge mistake. Gaming the economic situation is not a good idea. Buy when you’re personally ready.

Given the value of this session, I highly recommend getting in touch with Mindy should you be interested in learning about the apartment buying process in Manhattan and determining if it’s the right thing for you. She can be reached at 212.317.7887 or mfeldman@halstead.com.

career, economy, Examiner, finance, financing, job, money, personal finance, women, work

NY Business Strategies Examiner – Interview with Amanda Steinberg, Founder of DailyWorth

Christa Avampato

“No one is going to fix financial inequity for women. We have to recognize our own self-worth, ask for higher salaries, invest more aggressively, and build our own wealth.” ~ Amanda Steinberg, DailyWorth Founder

For my interview with Amanda, please visit: http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-2901-NY-Business-Strategies-Examiner~y2009m7d15-Interview-with-Amanda-Steinberg-Founder-of-DailyWorth

business, career, family, finance, friendship, nonprofit, Seth Godin

My Year of Hopefulness – A Matter of Compromise

Christa Avampato

Seth Godin wrote a great post this morning about compromise. In his usual style he started with the caveat, “If you sell crack to kindergarten students, no need to read this. Same thing if you donate all your belongings and income to the poorest and sickest in the slums and ghettos. The rest of us have compromised. We’re not profit-maximizing sociopaths, nor are we saints. We’re somewhere in between.”

The trouble is that the great majority of us are somewhere in between, though we haven’t thought much about where exactly our in between is, how we got there, and whether or not our in between is the right in between for us. To assess where we are and how we got there, we need to consider what our priorities are. That step will best inform our trade-off decisions, and those trade-off decisions set the stage for our optimal place in between.

My priorities:
1.) Time and energy for my friends and family
2.) Enough free time to write and have hobbies
3.) Financial independence that allows me to contribute to my savings, pay off my school loans, start a small side business, and live a good quality life in New York City

These priorities lead me to the following trade-offs:
1.) There are certain companies and careers that are all-consuming. Those are not the best places for me at this time in my life. I have to work at a place that appreciates balance.
2.) Because I have chosen to live in an expensive city and have a considerable amount of school loans, I have a certain minimum salary that I need to make. This salary requirements excludes certain careers and requires that I work full-time while I get my small side business started.

Where is my in between?
1.) When I first went to business school, I had the idea that I would immediately return to the nonprofit sector after graduation. As my school loans piled up and it became clear that I wanted to move to New York City for personal reasons, a return to the nonprofit sector grew very unlikely.
2.) Because I want to be part of a mission-based organization, I’ve found other ways to have a positive impact on my community: I volunteer regularly, went through a United Way training for future nonprofit board members, and donate to nonprofit organizations.

For my in between, I have certainly made trade-offs. While it might be my preference to work for a nonprofit full-time, there are a lot of benefits I’ve received in the for-profit sector that would not be possible at my level within a nonprofit. I have good balance between my personal and professional time. I have a generous vacation allowance, am getting good professional training, and great benefits. I’m also well-compensated which allows me to enjoy my life and help my family, two things that are very important to me.

One thing I didn’t count on while in graduate school is that many people are interested in doing well by doing good. The field of social entrepreneurship that combines the best of both the for-profit and nonprofit sectors has grown by leaps and bounds. So many people have made the trade-offs I’ve made, and a whole industry is springing up as a direct result of our common in between.

Considering these trade-offs that I’ve made brought a happy, unexpected consequence: it made me appreciate the choices I’ve made and it made me feel more empowered. In a time when we feel like so many facets of our lives are out of our control, this exercise can bring a sense of calm and purpose. The best part is that it can be done with a holistic approach to our lives, or we can focus on one specific area like career or relationships.

If we find that we aren’t happy with the result, it gives us a basis for an action plan to begin making some changes. While Seth Godin may have meant this exercise to be about compromise, it is also about happiness and accomplishment.

business, entrepreneurship, Examiner, finance, social entrepreneurship, The Economist

Operation HOPE and Child Savings International on Examiner.com

Christa Avampato

John Bryant spent many years in Los Angeles shouting from the hills in an effort to educate people outside the finance industry about finance. After the LA riots in 1992, he founded Operation HOPE to provide finance education to young people and those who didn’t have any other means to learn about finance.



Illustration above by James Fryer.
career, economy, finance, hope, job

My Year of Hopefulness – What to do with that $18 billion bonus

Christa Avampato

There’s a lot of buzz about the $18 billion that financial firms paid out after requesting and receiving TARP funding. Both President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden were outraged and very vocal about their opinions on these bonuses – they don’t like them. My friend, Jon, has a close friend at one of these financial firms. She just received her bonus in her paycheck this week and has been grappling with a lot of guilt for having it. 


After months of watching her friends be escorted out of the building following round after round of layoffs, she’s not sure what to do with this money. She spoke to her boss about the ethical dilemma she’s having with this money and the conversation was met with confusion, anger, and frustration. She tried to ask some co-workers about it, and she found little support for her beliefs. At a recent company meeting, she raised her hand and asked about the justification of the bonuses when the company had asked for and taken so much taxpayer money in the past few months. Again, no fruitful conversation. No one had an answer to her question, and no one had any interest in even listening to her concerns. 

As always, Jon listened patiently to his friend and considered her options of what she might do with this bonus money:
a.) she could give it back, though given the lousy track record of the bank’s management in recent months that doesn’t sound like a good idea
b.) she could donate the money to a nonprofit
c.) she could just keep it and get over her guilt. This is unlikely – not her style
d.) she could invest it in her own future in a way that would help others 

D. – invest it in her own future was the choice that intrigued her the most. For quite some time, she has wanted to start her own company in the social entrepreneurship space. Her bonus check is large enough to be the seed money for this new venture. Of all the ways to use this money, she felt that one would have the greatest return for the largest number of people. 

This story was a great lesson for me. Jon’s friend was beating herself up over this money when a better use of her energy was right in front of her. She just needed Jon, with his outsider perspective, to point her in the right direction. There is always a way to do good.

economy, finance, money, Oprah, Suze Orman

Suze Orman offers up a free financial guide for 2009

Christa Avampato

You’re panicked about 2009, and rightly so. The predictions for the economy are dire. We can’t hole up in our homes, under the bed, and wait for sunnier skies. We still need to get up and out into the world, no matter how gruesome it may be. So how exactly are we going to find the strength to do that? How are we going to squelch the anxiety all around us and within us?


Information is power. Suze Orman was on the Today Show this morning and has created a free guide for protecting your financial position in 2009. You don’t have to pay a penny for it and can download it in seconds right on to your desktop. But hurry – it’s only available until January 15, 2009. As usual it has a personable voice, straight-forward advice, and is well-organized. We’d expect nothing less from Suze. 

Get your guide, read every word, and follow her advice:  http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahshow/20081119_tows_bookdownload
finance, luxury, retail

Fewer, Better Things

Christa Avampato

Those clever marketers at De Beers, the diamond company, have launched another brilliant ad campaign: “Fewer, Better Things.” De Beers is a PERFECT example of a luxury company who is using the current economic state as a benefit to them. 


The idea of the campaign is simple. As a society, Americans collect a lot of junk – things of little value and use and we’re not even sure why we have them. They don’t bring us joy and most of it won’t even be around a year from now much less a generation from now. Jean Chatzky, financial advisor guru, has a rule of thumb that if you didn’t want it 5 years ago, you don’t need it now. De Beers thinks the same way, and maybe we all should take that advice to heart. 

Have a pair of earrings that you truly love (preferably De Beers diamonds) and make them part of your signature look. Same goes for other high ticket items. Save up for something of value that you really want instead of piddling away money on items you won’t cherish. Who knew some of the best financial advice you’d ever get would come from a diamond company’s print ad?